Skipper Story

Item #1005

(December, 1983) This nautical fellow is grasping the edge of a conch shell and imagining it to be the helm of a vessel like the one depicted on the English coin on the base. He has a faraway look as he steers by the stars. On the front of his hat is the Star of Bethlehem, which is actually at the center of a sand dollar. The little sea gulls on the hat were also from the inside of the sand dollar. Skipper’s name is written inside a Scotch Bonnet sea shell, which is the official shell of North Carolina.

Dr. Thomas F. Clark